Felt recoil for youth gun

[Bowguy]

my daughter killed her first 2 longbeards when she was 9 and did so with 3" turkey loads in a 12 gauge before i found the win 2 3/4 inch winchester turkey loads and switched her to those.   Don't get me wrong, she has only ever shot turkey loads at turkeys, but she will tell you that she's never really felt any recoil in the heat of the moment.   Those winchester 2 3/4 loads are very mild kicking loads for a turkey load and they are flat killers at 35 yards.

W all due respect this was not the best situation. The gun wasn't made for her most likely. The gun needed to be cut to get correct lip or she had a gun just way way too long and uncomfortable. I'm glad she succeeded but we get one chance. We gotta make it the best chance.

[Gobble!]

Last year I got my 5 year old a 20 gauge 870 youth model. Set him up with a 1.125oz load of TSS #10s. About 550 pellets in that load. Added a KickLite stock. I stuck with the factory improved cylinder choke as I wanted a very forgiving pattern. Added a Burris Fast Fire type sight as well. He shoots it from a bench and a tripod without a problem.

It was a success.

[Bowguy]

Last year I got my 5 year old a 20 gauge 870 youth model. Set him up with a 1.125oz load of TSS #10s. About 550 pellets in that load. Added a KickLite stock. I stuck with the factory improved cylinder choke as I wanted a very forgiving pattern. Added a Burris Fast Fire type sight as well. He shoots it from a bench and a tripod without a problem.

It was a success.

Congrats, great times!

[owlhoot]

Last year I got my 5 year old a 20 gauge 870 youth model. Set him up with a 1.125oz load of TSS #10s. About 550 pellets in that load. Added a KickLite stock. I stuck with the factory improved cylinder choke as I wanted a very forgiving pattern. Added a Burris Fast Fire type sight as well. He shoots it from a bench and a tripod without a problem.

It was a success.

Congrats to you guys. man look at the grin on that boy. Great times for sure 

[aclawrence]

my daughter killed her first 2 longbeards when she was 9 and did so with 3" turkey loads in a 12 gauge before i found the win 2 3/4 inch winchester turkey loads and switched her to those.   Don't get me wrong, she has only ever shot turkey loads at turkeys, but she will tell you that she's never really felt any recoil in the heat of the moment.   Those winchester 2 3/4 loads are very mild kicking loads for a turkey load and they are flat killers at 35 yards.

W all due respect this was not the best situation. The gun wasn't made for her most likely. The gun needed to be cut to get correct lip or she had a gun just way way too long and uncomfortable. I'm glad she succeeded but we get one chance. We gotta make it the best chance.

Ah come on man. Let's don't be the thread police. That was a post to celebrate.  I'm sure she had a blast killing those turkeys.


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[Bowguy]

my daughter killed her first 2 longbeards when she was 9 and did so with 3" turkey loads in a 12 gauge before i found the win 2 3/4 inch winchester turkey loads and switched her to those.   Don't get me wrong, she has only ever shot turkey loads at turkeys, but she will tell you that she's never really felt any recoil in the heat of the moment.   Those winchester 2 3/4 loads are very mild kicking loads for a turkey load and they are flat killers at 35 yards.

W all due respect this was not the best situation. The gun wasn't made for her most likely. The gun needed to be cut to get correct lip or she had a gun just way way too long and uncomfortable. I'm glad she succeeded but we get one chance. We gotta make it the best chance.

Ah come on man. Let's don't be the thread police. That was a post to celebrate.  I'm sure she had a blast killing those turkeys.


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Ah come on man stop being the wrong assumption police. There was nothing said to not outright be happy for her. I'm 100% on board w all kids and the satisfaction of being their mentor. That's why I said it's not the best choice. Not to belittle a man's or certainly not his kids accomplishment. It's to help another kid. We need a high odds of probability for a positive experience. Would you send your kids to school wearing your boots? Now if I knew that there might be reasons for it but would I recommend that as a great idea? Of course not.
The stock needing to be cut thing is obvious and I hope it was. The op seemed he couldn't spend tons of money. I could be wrong but if not, buying a 12, cutting a stock, buying a new stock are all a waste when the gun still prob can't be the best choice.
Years ago my buddy took his kids to get ready for deer season. They were excited. They shot .22s first time they shot than on the very same day they shot slugs. I was incredulous.
One kid stopped right there and won't touch guns at all. The other I had to have shoot a .28 standing up w light reloads after my daughter who was 11 and the smallest kid in her class showed him she could do it. You have no idea how long that first shot again for him was even on that day w my daughter helping him.
Yea every kid is different. Some can and will adapt and overcome. Some need to grow w this. Testing them under fire with a gun too heavy, too long, scopes banging them in the eyebrow, using the wrong eye, etc etc etc are all things that might land them playing video games instead of shooting.
That's why the ill fitting gun post is not the best idea. It could be done, the possibly of failure of enjoyment of the new child goes way up.
If someone thought I at all wasn't happy for the  child nothing could be further from the truth. Imo this thread may help another and it's important he gets not a "limited" experience. Hope that makes sense.

[WNCTracker]

my daughter killed her first 2 longbeards when she was 9 and did so with 3" turkey loads in a 12 gauge before i found the win 2 3/4 inch winchester turkey loads and switched her to those.   Don't get me wrong, she has only ever shot turkey loads at turkeys, but she will tell you that she's never really felt any recoil in the heat of the moment.   Those winchester 2 3/4 loads are very mild kicking loads for a turkey load and they are flat killers at 35 yards.

W all due respect this was not the best situation. The gun wasn't made for her most likely. The gun needed to be cut to get correct lip or she had a gun just way way too long and uncomfortable. I'm glad she succeeded but we get one chance. We gotta make it the best chance.

Ah come on man. Let's don't be the thread police. That was a post to celebrate.  I'm sure she had a blast killing those turkeys.


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Ah come on man stop being the wrong assumption police. There was nothing said to not outright be happy for her. I'm 100% on board w all kids and the satisfaction of being their mentor. That's why I said it's not the best choice. Not to belittle a man's or certainly not his kids accomplishment. It's to help another kid. We need a high odds of probability for a positive experience. Would you send your kids to school wearing your boots? Now if I knew that there might be reasons for it but would I recommend that as a great idea? Of course not.
The stock needing to be cut thing is obvious and I hope it was. The op seemed he couldn't spend tons of money. I could be wrong but if not, buying a 12, cutting a stock, buying a new stock are all a waste when the gun still prob can't be the best choice.
Years ago my buddy took his kids to get ready for deer season. They were excited. They shot .22s first time they shot than on the very same day they shot slugs. I was incredulous.
One kid stopped right there and won't touch guns at all. The other I had to have shoot a .28 standing up w light reloads after my daughter who was 11 and the smallest kid in her class showed him she could do it. You have no idea how long that first shot again for him was even on that day w my daughter helping him.
Yea every kid is different. Some can and will adapt and overcome. Some need to grow w this. Testing them under fire with a gun too heavy, too long, scopes banging them in the eyebrow, using the wrong eye, etc etc etc are all things that might land them playing video games instead of shooting.
That's why the ill fitting gun post is not the best idea. It could be done, the possibly of failure of enjoyment of the new child goes way up.
If someone thought I at all wasn't happy for the  child nothing could be further from the truth. Imo this thread may help another and it's important he gets not a "limited" experience. Hope that makes sense.

This is a valuable post. I don't have Experience raising kids to be hunters, so I ask questions. After reading and reflecting, I'm going to go with the 20 ga. Thanks to all who posted.


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[tomstopper]

Last year I got my 5 year old a 20 gauge 870 youth model. Set him up with a 1.125oz load of TSS #10s. About 550 pellets in that load. Added a KickLite stock. I stuck with the factory improved cylinder choke as I wanted a very forgiving pattern. Added a Burris Fast Fire type sight as well. He shoots it from a bench and a tripod without a problem.

It was a success.

Awesome. Look at that smile.....

[wvmntnhick]

It's been a while since I've looked but mossberg had a semi-automatic 20 ga for a while. It was the SA-20 and had good reviews. Wasn't expensive at the time either. No clue now tho. Might check into it though. Could just be another option.


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[Turkeyfever]

I started my son shooting a Maverick 88 youth 20 gauge and what made the difference for him was a limbsaver recoil pad. It simply slips over the butt of the gun and makes a big difference in recoil that is felt. He killed his first bird at 8 with that gun. We now have three Dedicated turkey guns a Mossberg SA 20 turkey thug, Mossberg 500 and the Tri star raptor youth. The Tri Star is a semi automatic that you can get at Walmart . My local Walmart has one now for 298. The gun is light and shoots great! It is very similar to the SA 20 turkey thug that I have when taken apart to clean. Both guns are made in Turkey, have chrome lined barrels, use the same choke tubes and shoot great. I put a sun optics dovetail adapter on it and added a red dot this year! As a matter of fact I shot it yesterday. The gun is ready to go! I killed one with open sights last year with this gun! Just throwing that out if you would like to look at a good semi automatic that will not break the bank. The gun sold at Walmart has a  camo forearm and stock. According to Tri star that is a gun specifically made for Wal Mart. Good luck with whatever you choose!

[WNCTracker]

I ended up getting the mossberg 500 20ga super bantam turkey, with a sumtoy choke. Should be here in 3 days. Great deal for only $320 on grab-a-gun. I put him a trs-25 on it to start out. He's going to love it.  I'm wondering how well the stock recoil pad does or if I should consider the after market ones. I never felt much difference personally with a limbsaver vs stock when I had an 835. Any opinions on that aspect? Thanks to all who helped me decide.


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[Turkeyfever]

The limbsaver pad will make a big difference if recoil is a problem. I used one on that Maverick 88 that I mentioned my son had no issues with recoil! You made a great choice on the 500! They will flat out shoot with a Carlsons 575 non ported turkey ! Good luck with the set up!

[dirtnap]

I have both a youth 870 and the moss berg bantam 20.  Out of the 2, the bantam definitely kicks more.  To a kid it may be an issue.

[zelmo1]

AL 48 youth model Franchise is the lightest shooting gun I have shot